CharedieducationgroupwelcomesnewLGBTguidancefromOfsted

BYSIMONROCKER

CHINUCH UK, the Charedi schools’ group, has welcomed a statement from Ofsted recognising that primary schools do not have to teach children about same-sex relationships.

Over the past 12 months several strictly Orthodox primary schools were criticised by Ofsted for avoiding LGBT issues, alarming Charedi leaders.

Chinuch UK welcomed Ofsted’s “new policy guidance on how schools are required to promote tolerance and respect”, which “brings an end to schools facing censure for not teaching young children about this very sensitive subject.”

While the guidance “does not resolve all issues for Charedi schools, it is a very constructive step and will have a positive impact”, it said.

Schools will be expected to begin teaching the new relationships and sex education curriculum in the summer term but Ofsted will begin looking at their preparations from January.

According to Department for Education guidelines, secondary schools are expected to talk about same-sex relationships, while primary schools are only “encouraged” to.

But Ofsted has previously pulled up some Orthodox independent primary schools which did not talk about families with same-sex parents on the grounds that they were failing to meet requirements to promote equality.

Ofsted made clear that primaries that did not teach about LGBT people would notbepenalisedaslongastheyhadconsulted parents about their RSE policy.

If a secondary school does not start teachingaboutLGBTrelationshipsfrom the start of the summer term, it will not meet the DfE’s requirements for RSE.

Additionally, an independent secondary school which does not already teach them will “fail” to meet existing standards on equality, Ofsted said. “This failure means the school will not ordinarily receive a leadership and management judgement better than requires improvement [the second lowest inspection grades].”